Reviews of 'Test of the Twins'

Rating:

Let me start by saying I am a fan of Raistlin, and that this may color my review slightly. Also, there will be spoilers of the previous books in the Legends Trilogy ahead, so if you haven't read those, I would advise you do so prior to reading this.

First, I will have to say that this is my favorite book in the Legends Trilogy. It is also the shortest, and not a page is wasted. The action moves on quickly enough. In addition, the book does an excellent job of continuing themes established in the previous 2 novels in this trilogy, themes such as love, death, and the importance one man (or kender) can have on the world.

Also, Dalamar has a larger role in Test than he does in the other books. The way Weis and Hickman wrote this mysterious Dark Elf has made him one of my favorite characters. They add a lot more to this character to make him move away from the evil wizard with a respectable amount of power stereotype and turn him into a far deeper character, with his own ambitions, emotions, and dreams.

Crysania leaves the book changed greatly, a character truly evolved from her cold beginnings. I did not like this character at first, but that changed when I read Test of the Twins.

Tanis Half-Elven also makes a large appearance, which is refreshing after his small role in Time of the Twins and no role at all in War of the Twins. Tanis' (in my opinion) antithesis, Kitiara, also makes a large appearance, as does the Death Knight Loren Soth, a character that I find very interesting.

This book also sheds some more light on one of the more interesting weapons of war in the series, namely, the Flying Citadel.

The ending is possibly the best in any DragonLance book I have read so far. Once I got to the last 100 or so pages, I could not put the book down, despite the fact that it was almost 5 am and that I had been up for over 24 hours. Just when you think that there could not possibly be much more content to put in the book, Weis and Hickman surprise us all and give us a very fast-paced, dramatic action scene, with the same sense of urgency as the ending of Dragons of Spring Dawning. As this is a Dragonlance book, despite knowledge that there are later books, you can never be sure that your favorite character will be alive to see the next great adventure.

This would have been a great ending for the Dragonlance series, as it was originally intended, as this book ties up most of the loose ends of the series. However, it is fortunate as this is not the case, as the ending can also greatly excite you to hear the tales of the Second Generation of heroes.

Overall, I think one or two of the scenes could have been elaborated on more, but that is still not enough to tarnish my review of 5 stars. I would encourage anyone who has read chronicles and the rest of legends to buy this book immediately. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:

Test of the Twins is the final instalment of the Legends Trilogy. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman put an end to one of the finest novels in the Dragonlance world. Caramon and Raistlin Majere have battled through different times and wars in this series, but now they are being put to the ultimate test; one that will challenge their soul.

Just as War of the Twins was an improvement over Time of the Twins, the final volume of the trilogy surpassed its predecessor. It had all the aspects you expect from a great novel. But the most important part about the book was that now Raistlin's ambition was finally being revealed to more and more people, and the implications were being understood. The story has shifted from a purely Majere perspective and now the whole world is involved in perhaps the final chapter of Krynn's history.

The return of the beloved characters from the Chronicles was a must if Weis and Hickman were planning on making this their final Dragonlance novel (we now know this was not the case). There was the feeling that this book would be the end to many stories, and many lives. The story was expanding, waiting to blow, and the ending established that fact.

The ending, unfortunately, was a pretty obvious one. I could tell for a while how the book was going to end, but there were some other events that I could not have predicted. I wanted more, though. The ending was not as spectacular as that of the Chronicles. It was obvious, but the authors brought it together and make it fantastic and kind of heartbreaking.

Finally some of the characters that we knew were going to be important blossomed. Dalamar was the most interesting character in this book because we had so much still to learn about him. He was powerful, cunning, and just a joy to read about. He was different from everyone else, but knew how to be... the same.

The most exciting part about this book was the use of the Citadels in warfare. They were machines of horror and were really cool. The way they were used was clever and unexpected, and I think we are going to see a lot more of them soon (fingers crossed).

We just now begin to see the implications the return of the gods in the Chronicles had on the world. As the clerics of the world grew and prospered, so too did the faith of the people. The clerics were revered and were respected. The people seemed to have a cushion under them, keeping them comfortable. The Gods were as active as ever and were much more involved in this series than ever before. There is still much to learn about them, but they are there and in control.

This novel tied up all the loose ends that hung in the world of Dragonlance. If Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman had truly made this their last novel, then there could only be one disappointment: there would be no more novels by these great writers. But that will not be the case and we can only hope that the next stories can rival and even be better than these six first ones, who some are calling the "holy six"!

Rating:

What can one say about a book that has had so much said about it before? Nothing has changed after all. That's not entirely true, though. Test of the Twins has been re-released in hardback format, with a beautiful cover by Matt Stawicki and a jacket design by Tanya Matson.

Looking in the inside of the cover, I'm taken back to the days I originally read Test of the Twins. Yet already, I see editorial problems. There's a mention of "dark knights", which is another name for the Knights of Neraka, formerly the Knights of Takhisis. Just a nitpick on my part.

The final chapter of the "Holy Six" (Chronicles and Legends) begins with Caramon and Tas learning that, in an alternate future, Raistlin has become a god, his hourglass constellation in the sky. The story follows Raistlin's bid to become a god, as well as the Blue Lady's War. I won't give much more away, save to say that this is a truly masterful work.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is the character growth. Caramon must finally learn to be his own man, and to not rely on Raistlin. Lord Soth's passions are evident in regards to Kitiara. Dalamar proves to be more than just another Black Robe. Crysania also comes out of the book greatly changed.

Certainly, the book is one of the best, and I recommend it to Dragonlance fans everywhere.

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